Expansible and contractible mandrel



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I //v VE/V r01? rnsooonz REPPEIZJR. B Y M T. REPPER, JR

EXPANSIBLE AND CONTRACTIBLE MANDREL ATTORNEY June 27, 1967 Filed May 28, 1965 June 27, 1967 T. REPPER JR. 3, 7,

I EXPANSIBLE AND CONTRACTIBLE MANDREL Filed May 28, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR THEODORE REPPER, JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,327,961 EXPANSIBLE AND CONTRACTIBLE MANDREL Theodore Repper, Jr., 505 Middletown Federal Saving & Loan Bldg, Middletown, Ohio 45042 Filed May 28, 1965, Ser. No. 459,767 1 Claim. (Cl. 242--72) This invention relates to a rotatable drum or mandrel for coiling sheet material, such, for example, as either hot or cold rolled steel, and consists more particularly in new and useful improvements in a mandrel of this type having relatively movable peripheral sections adapted to be radially expanded during coiling and then contracted to facilitate the removal of the material coiled thereon.

Heretofore, a number of mandrels have been designed with this general purpose in mind, but those with which I am familiar are extremely complicated in structure and operation. It, therefore, follows that they are not only expensive to build but expensive to maintain. Furthermore, due to the large number of moving parts involved in conventional mandrels, they are very diificult to assemble initially and to dismantle when repairs are required.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a mandrel of this type which embodies a minimum of moving parts and machined surfaces, resulting in a marked economy in initial construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mandrel which can be easily assembled and dismantled in a relatively short time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mandrel having sufiicient bearing area to render maintenance requirements less frequent.

Still another object is to provide a mandrel of this type wherein the expansion and contraction of the peripheral sections are easily controlled by a single operating means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mandrel having a series of segmental peripheral plates adapted to be radially expanded and contracted by cam-actuated connecting assemblies which are simultaneously actuated by a common operating means.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features herein set forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings in which numerals of like character designate similar parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a view of the mandrel in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end view of the mandrel with the gear box closure plate removed for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3, showing the peripheral sections of the drum in contracted position;

FIG. 5 is a similar view showing the peripheral sections in expanded position; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of one of the cam actuated link assemblies for controlling the radial movement of the peripheral sections of the drum.

In the drawings, the mandrel per se is designated generally by the numeral 7 and comprises a substantially cylindrical body 8 which terminates at one end in a conventional driveshaft 9 which is horizontally supported at longitudinally spaced points by bearings 10 and 11 carried by upright standards 10a and 11a, respectively. A drive gear 12 is fixed on the driveshaft 9 by any suitable means for imparting rotary motion to the body 8 and mandrel 7 when sheet material is being coiled thereon, as will later appear.

It may be noted that the mounting and drive means for the shaft 9 form no part of the present invention and may comprise any conventional structures. These features are illustrated more or less diagrammatically in FIG. 1 which shows only sufiicient details to represent an operative mechanism.

As best seen in FIGS. 3-5, the periphery of the body 8 is encompassed bya series of independent segmental plates 13, the opposite longitudinal edges of which are provided with alternating notches and tongues 14 and 15, respectively, which are so arranged that the notches 14 of one plate receive the tongues 15 of an adjacent plate. As seen in FIG. 1, these interengaging notches and tongues tend to maintain peripheral continuity for the drum and provide a series of contiguous bearing surfaces for receiving the coiled sheet material.

The plates 13 are individually mounted for radial projection and retraction with respect to the periphery of the body 8, so as to provide an expanded peripheral surface during the actual coiling of the sheet material on the mandrel, which surface can be contracted to facilitate removal of the coiled sheet material from the mandrel. This is accomplished by providing the underside of each plate 13 with a longitudinally extending radial guide flange 16 located adjacent the longitudinal center of the plate. The periphery of the body 8 is provided with a corresponding series of longitudinally extending radial recesses 17 designed to slidably receive the respective guide ribs 16, as seen in FIG. 4, the depth of said recesses with respect to said ribs being such as to permit and guide the radial movement of respective plates 13.

At longitudinally spaced intervals, the ribs 16 are transversely, radially recessed as at 18 to provide housings for cam-actuated connecting assemblies which selectively project and retract the plates 13, as hereinafter described. The train of mechanism for. shifting the plates comprises a central operating shaft 19, rotatably mounted in a radially enlarged bore 20 in the body 8 and supported at opposite ends in bearings 21. The outer end of the shaft 19 carries agear 22, arranged to mesh'with a series of radially spaced gears 23, each of which is fixedly mounted on the end of a parallel shaft 24. The shafts 24 are rotatably mounted in bores 25 in the walls of the housing 8 and supported at longitudinally spaced points by suitable bearings 26. Thus, when the operating shaft 19 is rotated, the centrally disposed gear 22 causes the simultaneous rotation of the surrounding gears 23 and their respective shafts 24. It is to be noted that the shafts 24 are squared as seen in FIG. 4, and in order to permit their rotation in the bores 25, their bearing ends are provided with bushings 27 having cylindrical outer peripheries for engagement with the bearings 26, and their shaft-receiving openings are squared.

Adjacent the radial housings 18, each squared shaft 24 carries an eccentrically mounted cylindrical cam body 28, as shown in detail in FIG. 6, which fits within a complementary bore 29 at the base end of a cam-actuated link 30. The cam body 28 is concentric with the link bore 29, but as it is eccentrically mounted on the squared shaft 24, rotation of the shaft and cam body causes the required radial movement of the link per se, as will later appear. A connecting arm 31 projects from the base of each link and fits within the adjacent radial recess or housing 18 in the rib 16, where it is operatively connected to one of the plates 13 by means of a pin 32 which passes through the arm 31 and the bounding side walls of the housing 18.

A series of these cam-actuated link assemblies are arranged at longitudinally spaced intervals along each of the shafts 24 so that the respective segmental plates 13 are given adequate support from end to end, and as the link assemblies are uniformly spaced and simultaneously operated a uniform projection and retraction of the plates is effected. It will also be seen from Fig. 4 that sufficient space is provided in the housings 18 around the edges of the respective link arms 31 to accommodate the necessary shifting movement of the links during the operation of the plates 13.

The gear train 22, 23 is disposed in a chamber 33 recessed in the outer end of the body 8, and this may be closed by any suitable end plate, as at 34.

As added reinforcement for the peripheral plates 13, their inner faces may be provided with inwardly projecting reinforcing ribs 35 at spaced intervals along their length and this tends to prevent warping of the plates. As a further precaution against warping, instead of employing long individual plates 13, a series of shorter plates may be used, separated, for example, at one or more of the locations of the reinforcing ribs 35.

It will be noted that clearances are provided between the sides of the ribs 35 and the adjacent walls of the recesses 36 within which they fit. These clearances, together with the clearance between the operating shaft 19 and its bore 20', facilitate heat control which may also be assisted by employing a hollow shaft 19 through which water may be introduced into the system.

The operation of the mandrel, starting with the peripheral plates 13 in retracted position, as shown in FIG. 4, is as follows: The operating shaft 19 is turned 180 in either direction, with the mandrel 7 held stationary, either by hand or by a suitable braking device (not shown).

The operating shaft 19 turns gear 22, which simultaneously turns the associated gears 23 180", together with their squared shafts 24. Rotation of the shafts 24 causes the respective cam bodies 28 to rotate within the bores 29 in the link base, which results in a camming action on the link assemblies 30, causing the radial projection of the plates 13 connected to the projecting arms 31 of the links. The projected position of the plates 13 is shown in FIG. where it will also be seen that the notches 14 and complementary tongues 15 on opposed edges of adjacent plates have become withdrawn, while, at the same time, maintaining substantial continuity of the peripheral surface of the plates.

With the mandrel in projected condition, the mandrel is rotated by any suitable means connected to the drive gear 12 on shaft 9 to coil the sheet material on the expanded periphery of the mandrel. Then, when it is desired to remove the coiled sheet material from the mandrel, a repetition of the previously described procedure causes the rotation of the gears another 180 to retract the plates 13 to the position shown in FIG. 4. When thus retracted, the coil of sheet material can he slid off the outer end of the mandrel with ease.

It may be noted that it is possible to operate the projecting and retracting mechanism either by holding the mandrel stationary and turning the operating shaft 19, or by holding the operating shaft and turning the mandrel.

The mandrel may be completely dismantled in a very short time by removing the end plate 34-, sliding out the four annularly spaced squared shafts 24 and then lifting off the segmental plates 13. The cam-actuated links may be removed from the plates by simply withdrawing the pins 32.

It will thus be seen that this invention provides an expansible'mandrel which is extremely simple in construction and easy to operate, and one which affords a maximum of under-support for the segmental peripheral plates.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

I claim:

An expansible and contractible mandrel for coiling sheet material, comprising a series of segmental plates collectively defining the periphery of a circular drum surface, opposite, longitudinal edges of each plate being provided with alternate tongues and notches arranged to movabley interfit with complementary tongues and notches on corresponding edges of adjacent plates, directed links pivotally supporting respective plates at longitudinally spaced points on their axially directed faces, camming means operatively supporting respective links, designed to radially project and retract said links, separate rotatable shafts parallel with and radially offset from the axis of said mandrel for actuating the link camming means of respective plates, a common operating shaft coaxial with said mandrel, a train of gears connecting said common operating shaft with each of said offset shafts, and drive means for rotating said common shaft, respective camming means, links and plates being articulated to uniformly radially expand and retract said plates while substantially maintaining an unbroken circular peripheral drum surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,346,812 7/1920 Duston 242 72 2,256,400 9/1941 Matthews 242 72 X 2,638,283 5/1953 Bebech 242-42 3,016,212 1/1962 Marcus 242-72 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

N. L. MINTZ, Assistant Examiner. 

